Tuesday, January 3, 2012

It's been a pretty productive season following Hallowe'en. Here's my quick wrap up of the Fall of 2011:

I cleaned up Hallowe'en, which took for-fucking-ever (about a week). It was a big Hallowe'en.

I severely f'ed up my foot, which I am working on fixing. Did you know they have little tiny blood pressure cuffs for your toes? They are so cute!!! Next time I'll take photos.

Hired someone to replace me and am training him, slowly, but surely.

I started my new job which is going very well. I am enjoying the anticipation of really getting the program off the ground.

A very quiet Thanksgiving with the in-laws

Lots and lots of crocheting for holiday gifts

And the last three weeks have been a slew of parties for Hanukkah, Christmas, my 41st birthday and the New Year

Whew! In all of that, I have been getting a ton accomplished. The crocheting, yes, but also quite a lot of cleaning out of excess stuff.

Sometimes I feel like I don't get as much accomplished as I could because I have more than I need. For example: I have supplies for crafts from now until the next millennium. While I like having these supplies, sometimes they distract me from the things I really want to be doing. It's almost paralyzing to have so many choices! So, to focus a bit, I am slowly giving away or selling the things that seem excessive. I can still have 10 pairs of scissors if I really need them, because I use them all, but perhaps, since I've never done anything with the needlefelting kit, I could lose that. And the drop spindle. And the Big Ass Book of Crafts (which is super cute, but I've never used anything in it!).

So I've been getting rid of about 10 things a day for the last week. It's been pretty restorative. Whether it's a magazine, a marble or something much larger, it seems not only manageable but it also doesn't seem forced. If I only get to 8 in one day, that's fine. Perhaps I'll get 12 the next day.

Why am I getting rid of all of this stuff? What does simplifying do for me?
I feel freer the less stuff I have. It's true. I used to take these vacations in the Grand Canyon and I would rent a cabin that had a bed, a desk, two chairs and two lamps. I always left my 4 days there feeling like I could live like that forever. Of course, that's a little extreme, but if I romanticize living simply, there's obviously something to that.

Also, it gets me to a place where I am more focused on my current love, which is the little Bluestocking Farm. This has been a super cold start to winter (except this week which has been over 80 degrees F EVERY DAY!). The cold bit a bunch of my herbs, especially my chives which had previously been doing pretty well. So now I'm planning the spring garden, which will be here and ready for planting before I know it.

Anyone know of a good Southern California spring planting guide? I'd like to get this year right!